(1) Technical Field
The present invention relates to the field of edible pet chews, and specifically to pet chews that are easy to digest and have properties that improve oral health and eliminate malodorous breath in animals.
(2) Background
It is well known that household pets such as dogs and cats often suffer from poor oral health. This problem also manifests itself with bad breath, which is particularly unpleasant in dogs. Many edible pet chews have been developed to promote fresh breath in dogs and reduce tartar buildup. However, edible pet chews are often hard, brittle, and difficult to digest. Dogs chewing these pet chews usually break them into pieces which are sharp and can cause damage to the digestive tract once swallowed. Other times, the chews are swallowed whole, where they can easily become lodged in a dog's throat and cause choking, or become lodged in a dog's digestive tract, requiring surgery to remove and sometimes leading to death. One recent test demonstrated that a typical hard pet chew dissolved only 34.6% in a digestive simulation test over the better part of a day.
Additionally, most edible pet chews directed to promoting oral health and eliminating malodorous breath are ineffective due to the hardness of the chew. A typical pet chew operates to remove plaque and tartar from a dog's teeth by the chewing action whereby the abrasive texture of the pet chew scrapes the plaque and tartar from the teeth. In a typical hard, brittle dog chew, this chewing action is brief, as the dog will usually quickly break the pet chew apart and swallow the pieces or even swallow the pet chew whole without chewing at all. Therefore, the oral health advantages of these dog chews are negated. The ingredients included to prevent or eliminate malodorous breath suffer from the same limitation, in that the shorter time period the dog chew is in the dog's mouth, the less effective the ingredients are at eliminating the bacteria and odor that leads to bad breath.
Additionally, the ingredients used in existing pet chews to combat malodorous breath are numerous but still limited by their compatibility with other pet chew ingredients and the processing used to form most pet chews. One of the most effective treatments of malodorous breath is baking soda, otherwise known as sodium bicarbonate. However, its reactive nature has prevented it from being implemented into the pet chews thus far.
Thus, what is needed is a pet chew with a texture that promotes mastication, is easily digested, and contains effective ingredients to promote oral health and prevent malodorous breath in animals.